


Red Wine and a Diamond Ring

by angsty_nerd



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, fluffy fluff, just straight up romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:33:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26167948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angsty_nerd/pseuds/angsty_nerd
Summary: It’s Liz’s birthday, and Max has PLANS for her.
Relationships: Max Evans/Liz Ortecho
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Red Wine and a Diamond Ring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LCurrier28](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCurrier28/gifts).



> Happy birthday to @lsyoung28!!! I wrote you Echo fluff today!

"Where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise!"

"If you tell me, I'll make it worth your while," Liz told him suggestively. Max laughed out loud.

"If I tell you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it? Patience, Liz. We'll be there soon."

"Can I at least take off the blindfold?"

"Not yet," Max insisted. "Just a bit longer."

He turned his Jeep off of the main road onto a dusty side road that wove its way up to a familiar overlook.

"I swear, Max. If all of this secrecy ends up with you just taking me to the Pod Cave, I'm gonna be so annoyed."

"We're not going to the cave," Max promised. "We're going somewhere better… hopefully."

Finally they got to the spot Max was looking for. He pulled the Jeep in beside the small tree, and he shut off the engine. It had been a long time since he last visited this spot, but it was an old favorite of his...one he returned to frequently in the decade that Liz was gone. 

Max jumped out of the car and rushed around to the passenger side to help Liz out of the car. He led her a few steps away from the Jeep, and then hurried back to grab a his bag from the car.

"Wait right there!" He insisted as he prepared the surprise. Liz was getting impatient though, so he just decided to go for it. He pulled the speakers out of his bag and queued up the song on his phone.

"Okay, are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes!! I've been ready!"

He hit play, and then hurried back to her side. The first few bars of the song began to play, and Liz gasped. "Are we…?"

Without even checking she pulled the blindfold off. She grinned widely as she surveyed her surroundings. The old tree was still there, and an amazing desert view stretched out in front of them.

"Dance with me?" Max suggested.

"Of course," Liz replied. "This is the song we danced to that day too, isn't it?"

"Bright Eyes," Max confirmed. As if drawn there by a magnetic pull, his hands gripped her hips, and hers threaded around his neck as they slowly moved in time with the music. 

"That day in the desert...I loved being with you so much. It was so hard to stop myself from kissing you."

"That was the first time I ever really believed that you could possibly love me back. I was used to the whole unreciprocated feelings thing. If you had left and we hadn't had that day in the desert, I still would have missed you, but it wouldn't have been the same. I wouldn't have known what it was like to hold you, to have you look at me the way you did that day. After that day, you were a what if instead of an impossibility."

"Oh Max...I was a dumb kid. I didn't really know what I wanted back then. But I do now."

The song ended and Max took a step back from her and smiled. "Let me guess...you want lunch?"

Liz laughed, "Yeah, lunch would be great."

She watched as Max reached into his bag, and pulled out a large blanket, which he laid out under the tree. Bread, cheese, salami, and a bottle of Liz's favorite red wine followed suit. Finally, Max grabbed two wine glasses, and then they lay out on the blanket together, as Max pulled the cork and poured the wine. He handed her a glass.

"Happy birthday, Liz. Welcome to your 30s."

"To my 30s," Liz concurred with a laugh. They clinked glasses and she took a long sip. 

“Though, it’s not like you’ve been 30 _that much_ longer than me. It’s only been a few months since your birthday.”

“True,” Max agreed, as he unwrapped the cheese and meat. “But I like having you here with me.”

Liz made herself a little sandwich and munched on it happily.

"Thank you, Max. Thanks for all of this."

When they were done eating, they just lay there beside each other, lazily sipping on their wine, Liz's head resting on Max's chest. Liz felt warm and happy, her head just slightly fuzzy from the wine, in the best possible way.

"Are you ready for your present?" 

"There's more?" Liz asked, surprised.

"Just one more thing."

Max reached into his bag and pulled out the gift. It was a small box, beautifully wrapped. 

"Isobel helped you with this, didn't she?" 

Max looked sheepish, "Well yeah."

"It's lovely," Liz told him, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank her for me."

Carefully, Liz untied the ribbon and set it to the side, before carefully removing the paper. The box inside was white, unmarked. Just a normal gift box. 

She took the lid off and gasped.

"Max… I don't understand…"

Sitting on a cotton cushion inside the box was her _Abuela_ 's ring. The ring that her mother had tried to steal from the Crashdown, and Max had brought back to them, somehow. The last time Liz had looked, it was safely locked away under the Crashdown counter.

"Your father gave me his blessing months ago and he wanted you to have it. He let me leave it in the safe all this time so that you wouldn't suspect anything...but…"

"Max...are you…?"

"Liz...we've been through so much together, but somehow, no matter how rough things get, we always seem to find our way back to each other. I've been in love with you for my entire life...since the day I met you. And I still can't believe I'm lucky enough that you love me too. Marry me, Liz? Give me the honor of standing beside you for the rest of our lives?"

Liz turned herself fully around, straddling Max's hips so that she could look him in the eye. There were tears in her eyes as she leaned in and gave him a deep, firm kiss. Their noses smushed together as she rested her forehead against his, her eyes closed and a relaxed smile on her face.

"Uh...Liz?" Max questioned, and only then she realized she hadn't said anything.

"Obviously it's a yes, Max. I'm never gonna love anyone else the way I love you. Frankly, I'm already in it for life. This just makes it official to the rest of the world."

She passed the box to him, and Max took the ring out, slipping it onto Liz's finger. Liz smiled. "I can't wait to marry you."

Max felt a twist in his gut as he stared at the ring. It was a visible symbol now of their commitment to each other. There was this instinct, deep inside of him, that he didn't fully understand...he had felt it before, only a handful of times, but he could remember each and every one clearly. The day after the shooting, when he met Liz outside of the Crashdown and she pulled the neckline of her shirt aside to reveal his mark shining on her skin. Later that year, when Noah marked her, and he wanted to rip Noah apart for daring to mark what didn't belong to him...for the utter gall of leaving his mark on Max's girl. And again, a few days later when she begged him to mark her again, when they first made love. 

He didn't particularly like this feeling. It felt particularly alien to him. His human upbringing taught him to respect women's autonomy. He loved Liz's strength, her independence, her capability...and he knew she didn't belong to him. She was her own, miraculous, powerful being. Yet, his instinct wanted the entire world to see that she was his. It wanted her to wear his mark, so no one else would ever try to take her from him, the way Noah had tried to all of those years ago. He wanted the psychic bond, the connection to her... he wanted everything. But he didn't know how to put it into words, the biological drive, pushing his need for her to a whole new level.

But for some reason he didn't need to even ask. Liz's body seemed to sense what he wanted. She ground her hips against his and her hands slipped under his shirt, stroking his bare skin, and demanding more. She pulled his shirt up and over his head and tossed it to the side.

"Liz…" Max's voice was a deep growl, and Liz's stomach flip flopped at the sound of it. She wanted all of him. And she didn't want to wait for the drive home

"We're out in the desert, Max…" she reminded him. "There's no one around. We have this nice comfy blanket…"

Max had no desire to argue with her on this. He slid her leather jacket off of her shoulders, pushing it to the side and leaving her just in her tank top and bra. Liz leaned back, pulling out of his grip so that she could focus her attention on his ridiculous belt buckle, unfastening it and then pulling open his fly and pushing his jeans down. A little wiggle from him assisted her in getting them out of her way and his shorts soon followed suit. Liz stood and peeled her skinny jeans down to her ankles, kicking them away before she returned to straddling Max. His hands guided her hips, while hers positioned his cock. She sunk down, taking him fully inside of her. Firmly, she gripped his shoulders, holding his firm body for support as she tried to settle into a good rhythm for them both. But she could see it in Max's eyes… a hunger, a longing. Something wasn't right for him.

One of his hands left her hips, reaching up to sweep her hair over her shoulder and down her back.

"Liz… can I…" his eyes pleaded with her. "I want…" and then his hand rested, open palmed, over her heart and suddenly she understood. 

"Yes." Liz agreed. "Do it. Please."

It had been a long time since they had last bonded like this. After Max died, there were so many secrets between them, neither of them were open to it. And then Liz went to L.A. without him. Since she'd come back, they had been trying to find a sense of normalcy. And normal didn't include alien psychic bonds. It hadn't even really occurred to Liz to ask for this.

But now, as Max pressed his hand to her bare skin, as his mind pushed inside of hers, and his energy flowed into her skin and bones, she wondered how it was possible that they went so long without this? Max's essence was so gentle and loving. His love washed over her like a tidal wave, powerful and overwhelming, and she just surrendered to it. She didn't even notice that she had stopped moving until Max flipped them over and took charge. 

"Mine," he growled, his voice so deep and low that she almost didn't hear it.

"Yes," Liz gasped and arched back. His body, his mind, his emotions, his pleasure...all of it was rushing through her. She clung to him, fingernails clawing into his back, while she gasped his name. Max's thrusts grew more erratic, until finally he pushed in deep and spilled inside of her. His release was like a shockwave through her, triggering her own release, which she felt echoing back through him, as she gasped and moaned incoherently. 

They lay beside each other for a long time, breathing deeply and trying to regain some equilibrium. Liz pressed her hand to the spot over her heart where his palm had rested the entire time they made love. Somehow, Liz didn't doubt that the handprint would be there in the morning. 

She smiled at the thought of it.

When they were both capable, they collected their discarded clothes and got dressed. Max packed up the remnants of their picnic lunch and tossed it all back into his bag. Liz stood to the side as he folded the blanket and tossed everything back into the backseat of the Jeep.

Meanwhile, Liz stared out into the desert. The sky in the distance was darkening as a monsoon began to move in. It was incredible to watch from a distance. There was nothing like the New Mexico desert. It sang into her soul. Years of distance, and she hadn't realized until she got home that she wasn't whole without her home in her life.

Max stepped up beside her and took her hand silently. She turned to look at him, and she smiled. 

"I love you." She told him, as if he couldn't feel it echoing through the psychic bond. He kissed her in response, a long, deep, silent oath of his love, which she felt pulsing from his heart into her own.

"Let's go home," she suggested, tugging him back towards the car.

"Uhh… one more stop first," Max told her, sheepishly.

"There's more?!" Liz laughed. "Max, all of this was more than enough!"

"Hey, this one isn't my doing," Max insisted. "Your father asked if we could stop by on our way home. He's dying to hear that you said yes."

"Not _if_ I said yes?" Liz asked with a playful smirk.

"His words, not mine!"

It was a short drive back to the outskirts of town, and Liz was amused to think about how much faster it seemed when she wasn't blindfolded for the whole drive. The sun was setting, as Max drove them onto the main street through town, past the UFO Emporium, and parked his Jeep in the little lot behind the Crashdown.

As they made their way around to the front of the building, holding hands, Liz was so caught up in how happy she was that she didn't really pay attention to the figures silhouetted in the windows of the cafe as they passed. So the roaring shouts of ‘surprise’ threw her for a complete loop as they walked in the door.

Everyone was there. Papi and Rosa, Isobel and Michael, Maria and Alex, Kyle and Jenna…they all smiled widely as she made her way into the diner, greetings of ‘happy birthday’ tailing her. 

"So, _mija_ , did you say yes?" Arturo interrupted the group impatiently.

"Of course I did," Liz answered, holding up her hand so that all of her friends and family could see the diamond ring.

"Then it's an engagement party too," Arturo insisted. " _Gracias a dios_ , otherwise I would have had to work a miracle on the cake."

Liz walked over to look at it. 

"¡Feliz cumpleaños!" was written on the cake, but beside the traditional frosting flowers was a diamond ring made from frosting, one that perfectly mirrored the one that now lived on her left hand.

" _Papi_ , it's perfect. Thank you."

She hugged her father, and turned to survey the room, just in time to see Michael smack Max's shoulder and Isobel give him a hug. 

All of her favorite people filled her family home. The man she loved was beside her for the rest of her life. Liz beamed happily. If the next decade of her life reflected her 30th birthday, then it was going to be one hell of a decade. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
